Toronto Blue Jays Logo

The team played their first game in the American League in April 1977. It was then that their first logo – the one that looks so much like the current emblem – was introduced. The logo featured the side view of the head of a bird, a blue jay to be precise, with a red maple leaf in the top right corner. Behind the bird, a white baseball with red seams was placed. The emblem was encircled by the team’s name.

Toronto Blue Jays logo meaning and history

The version of the logo introduced in 1997 was based on its predecessor, yet looked utterly different. Having retained the four core symbols of the original logo (the bird, the leaf, the ball, and the wordmark), the 1997 logo featured them in a completely different way. The red maple leaf grew bigger and became the background for the whole emblem. Above it, the basketball was placed, which, in its turn, served as the background for the side view of the blue jay. The bird itself looked very similar to the first logo, except it grew smaller.

Old logo Toronto Blue Jays

The 2003 emblem featured a completely different blue jay. Now, the bird looked somewhat cartoonish and had an unusual expression on its face, as if it were saying, “Will you dare play with me?” The blue jay was holding a yellow bat and tossing a ball.

Symbol Toronto Blue Jays in 2004-2010

As soon as a year later, a new logo was designed by the firm Brandid headquartered in Toronto. The emblem was based on the lettering “Jays” with a blue jay extending from the initial letter.

The 2011 emblem Toronto Blue Jays

Over the following years, fans often complained about the logo and asked to return the original one. Eventually, in 2011, the team introduced a logo, which resembled their first emblem. There were several noticeable modifications, including the palette, the proportions, and other details, yet the iconic visual core was perfectly recognizable.

Font of the Toronto Blue Jays Logo

The type seen on the Toronto Blue Jays logo is very similar to the glyphic serif font called ITC Elan Bold, which was created by Albert Boton and published by ITC. The resemblance is particularly noticeable in the way the serifs are designed, while the proportions of some of the letters differ much from those in the original font.